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CBB star Trisha Goddard reveals painful new health diagnosis amid cancer battle
Trisha revealed what it was really like living in the CBB house with stage four cancer
CELEBRITY Big Brother star Trisha Goddard has opened up about a painful side effect of living with incurable stage four cancer.
The talk show host, 67, said she is experiencing Raynaud's syndrome a condition causing reduced blood flow to the fingers and toes.
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It can sometimes be a side effect of chemotherapy and can change the colour of the skin and causes burning or numbness.
Trisha shared a photo of her bright red fingers and explained that her Raynaud's has worsened since being on chemo the last year.
She wrote: "Sheesh… Anybody else dealing with pesky Raynaud’s?
"If you do, here’s what happens when you forget to wear gloves when buying frozen food, and then go about putting it in your freezer, duh!
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"Had it mildly for years, but over a year of infusions and chemo every three weeks has ramped up my Raynaud’s quite a bit. Ouch!
"Here’s herself waiting for the painful fingers to go bright red, then blue, then icily grey/white before they eventually go back to normal."
Trisha explained that she's learnt to adjust her lifestyle around the condition - from wearing gloves to using a napkin to hold a cold glass.
She continued: "Over the years, I’ve learned to adapt; for instance, I wear gloves while driving, so my car’s air conditioning doesn’t trigger Raynaud’s in my fingers.
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"When I have a cold drink, I use a napkin to hold the glass and so on.
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"BUT every so often I forget; the burning sensation starts and my fingers go painfully numb while they turn the colours of the Union Jack."
Trisha then added some further details about the syndrome to help inform her followers.
"Bit of info below folks," she concluded.
"Chemotherapy can induce or exacerbate Raynaud’s phenomenon, a condition where blood vessels in the fingers and toes temporarily narrow in response to cold or stress, leading to reduced blood flow.
"This condition can manifest as skin color changes (white, blue, red), numbness, and pain in the affected areas.
"While often temporary and resolving after chemotherapy, it’s important to manage and be aware of this side effect."
Signs of Raynaud's
Raynaud's disease means that the small blood vessels in the extremities such as the hands, feet, fingers or toes are over-sensitive to even the slightest changes in temperature, cold conditions and sometimes emotional stress.
When our bodies are exposed to the cold, a normal response is for the blood vessels to become narrower.
When someone has Raynaud's this reaction may be much more extreme.
It will sometimes cause a noticeable colour change to the affected areas, with the skin turning white, then blue and finally to red as the circulation returns.
This is known as a Raynaud's attack.
A Raynaud's attack can be very uncomfortable, and sometimes quite painful.
It can also make everyday tasks, like buttoning a jacket or unzipping a purse, very difficult.
Raynaud's symptoms generally affect the fingers and toes, but all extremities can be involved, including the hands, feet, ears, nose, lips, tongue and nipples.
Raynaud's is a common condition thought to affect up to ten million people in the UK.
Symptoms may include:
- Cold fingers and toes
- Colour changes in your skin in response to changes in temperature or stress
- Colours changes in the affected area from white to blue then red
- Numbness, tingling or pain in affected areas
- Stinging or throbbing pain when you're warm or get relief from stress
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It comes just a month after Trisha opened up about living with stage four cancer in the famous CBB house.
Trisha underwent a round of chemotherapy and flew to the UK from her home in Connecticut just 24 hours later to move into the CBB house.
Speaking about the process of making sure she was fit and well for the programme, she told the : "I went to the infusion centre on April 1. I call it my spa room.
"I had a soupcon of chemo and targeted hormone therapy, one little bag after the other. I have a port catheter [in her chest] and I get plugged in.
"Then the next day I flew over to the UK. I had to wear compression garments – tights and a sleeve on my arm – and I took disinfectant wipes for the seats, tables, armrest and loo.
"My oncologist is brilliant, a rock star, and so sweet. He said, 'I’m going to help you do this because your message [of hope] is so great.”’
Trisha then underwent an ultrasound scan upon touching down in England to ensure she was well and and to check that she had not developed a deep vein thrombosis.
In order to make her stay in CBB comfortable, Trisha was afforded a number of luxuries.
She originally thought she would be given a bed with a curtain in the main bedroom but was shocked to discover she had been given her own private suite.
Trisha told the Mail: "I thought I was going to get – ooh – a bed with a curtain but amazingly they decided I should have my own bedroom, loo and bathroom which I genuinely wasn’t expecting.
"I was blown away by that. And they gave me my own low-fat food in a little fridge.
"I missed out on not being in the main bedroom – I got a bit of FOMO."
She also opened up on some of the medication she was taking during her stay in Britain's most famous house.
Trisha added: "I had to take poo powder three times a day. It’s [constipation] one of the side-effects of chemo.
"I also had a prescribed dose of calcium, and so many people will say they’re tired with chemo. Not moi! I take Ritalin [a stimulant typically prescribed for ADHD].
"It stops exhaustion. This is what upsets me: there are so many people with cancer, so many suffering so much they can’t function, but side-effects can be treated.
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"[For nausea] I do a super mild wibbly-wobbly workout with weights that helps my balance. The hospital doesn’t even need to give me anti-nausea meds."
Trisha was evicted from the CBB house in the show's second week, becoming the second contestant to be evicted.
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